Mr. Akinori Ando, Japanese Expert, together with his secretary Ms. Sita Kumpol joined the representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) of Japan, consisting of Mr. Norikazu Suzuki, State Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Mr. Kenichi Hirano, Director of Grain Trade and Operation Division, Mr. Kenji Okuhira, Director of Grain Quality Assurance Office and Mr. Toshiki Tojo, Deputy Director of Grain Trade and Operation Division, visited Pateros Elementary School in Pateros, the Philippines on 22 February 2024 to evaluate the implementation of the ‘School Distribution Programme (SDP)’ introduced by Japan to support APTERR’s Tier 3 programme.
The event was well-organised by the National Food Authority (NFA) led by Mr. Roderico R. Bicco, Administrator and Pateros Elementary School’s officers. During the evaluation, both APTERR Secretariat and MAFF Japan talked with some student-beneficiaries as well as their parents and received a positive feedback and appreciation on the rice assistance.
The ‘SDP’ was launched in FY 2022 through Tier 3 and the Philippines was the first APTERR member country to implement the programme. The 20-MT rice was released in 2023 to 1,953 elementary students and kindergartens at Pateros Elementary School. The rice assistant aimed to encourage those students to continue their study actively as the education was an essential tool for breaking a cycle of poverty and building their brighter future.
